What Are You Waiting For?: Learn How to Rise to the Occasion of Your Life

by Kristen Moeller, Jack Canfield (Introduction)

What are you waiting for? Do you find yourself waiting for the right moment? The ideal relationship? The perfect job? Are you waiting for your "real" life to begin? Do think that the gifts of life are right around the corner? That one day you will arrive and everything will be okay? Do you endlessly search, yet never seem to find? Through the sharing of authentic personal stories and profound life lessons, Kristen Moeller explores our pervasive human tendency to wait for life and to look outside ourselves for answers. So we don't try; we give up. We sell out and we forget who we are. We are afraid to succeed, afraid to fail, and afraid to say we are afraid. But as Wayne Gretzky said, "You'll always miss one-hundred percent of the shots you don't take!" Kristen Moeller's mission in life is to inspire you to get on the path, move forward and take the shot.

Genres: Self Help, Personal Development, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Kristen Moeller, MS has been in the field of personal development since 1989. As a coach, author, speaker and radio show host her work comes from heart. She relays her compassionate message on a weekly radio show, “What Are You Waiting For?” where she converses with luminaries such as Jack Canfield, Bob Doyle from the movie 'The Secret' and bestselling author Marci Shimoff to name a few. Kristen's other achievements include founding a non-profit organization, providing 'pay it forward' scholarships to life-enhancing programs. She is an active force, who enjoys hiking, running, skiing, and horse-riding in her free time and whose energy has captivated thousands of people through her work.

Reviews

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 of 4

What Are You Waiting For? is not your typical "self-help" book.

You won't find any quick fixes or ready-made solutions. And it certainly doesn't abide the formula: your problem + the author's (the expert's) answer = do what they say precisely and your life will be perfect.

No, it reads more like a personal essay than bona fide "expert" advice, and Moeller doesn't come across as having it 100% together and ALL figured out. In other words, she's someone who's been there, done that, and wants to share what could potentially help others in the same situation(s).

What Are You Waiting For? presents generalized areas of life in which one could be waiting, then Moeller shares her personal experience with waiting in those specific areas. In between and after her insights, there are calls to action she named, "Gentle Knocks." These are my favorite part of the book because they encourage readers to explore their life, ways of thinking, perceptions and beliefs to seek out and create their own answers - instead of waiting for or depending on the author or expert.

Here are a couple excerpts that resonated with me:

"And I started to accept that "my purpose" was an evolution versus an arrival (p. 132)."

"Funny that the permission we seek to be ourselves ultimately comes from within. We are our own jailkeepers... (p. 242)."

Especially recommended to those who may be dealing with loss and, perhaps, waiting to grieve or fully heal. Or to those who are willing to do the work to examine and pinpoint the waiting rooms in their life. Not recommended to self-helpers who live by the "formula."

Received this paperback via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review.

[Omar Halabieh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about taking charge of your life - but contrary to many self-help book - the author does not present any silver bullets because as we all know there are none. Instead, Kristen shares with her readership authentic and genuine personal stories and uses the power of inquisitive questions (gentle knocks) to lead her readers on a journey of self exploration. Below are key excerpts from the book that strongly resonated with me:

1- "This is the tragic fate of the human condition. We have what might be called "spiritual narcolepsy." We forget who we are, what we are capable of, and what it is like to feel deeply, intensely, and joyously alive. We forget what it means to be free."

2- "Life doesn't come wrapped in a neat little package—yet so many of us seek just that. And, when it doesn't turn out that way, we are back where we started, wondering how we got here again."

3- "Here are some tools from the relationship tool bag that David and I have gathered over our two decades together. I don't claim to always use them, but I do claim that when I do use them, they work!...IDENTIFY EXPECTATIONS...STOP KEEPING SCORE...PRACTICE ACCEPTANCE...GIVE UP BEING RIGHT ...DON'T WAIT ...WHEN YOU FORGIVE, BE GENEROUS"

4- "If we believe we are not lovable, we will never find the real love or satisfaction we seek. If we do believe it, we can find fulfillment for ourselves and stop demanding that others fulfill us."

5- "One of humanity's greatest strengths is resiliency—the ability to adapt to varied conditions, overcome setbacks, and continue to grow. Even when we doubt this, each of us has this ability; it is our resilience that gets us through the muck time and time and time again. If we stick with "safe," we miss the opportunity to make the necessary mistakes that form the foundation for great success—whatever success means to you."

6- "Some people will spend eternity moving around to avoid being with themselves. Ultimately, no house or hill or 'hood will save us. At some point we have to stop running away and learn to enjoy our own company. No matter where we go, we take us along. On the other hand, we can create a sense of home anywhere, and some places ^ will always remain special."

7- "We are our own jail-keepers, but we keep pressing or rebelling against some invisible force out there somewhere or deep down somewhere and keep the bars intact. That is just plain silly, isn't it? I am not saying we don't have external pressures and voices that assist in our staying stuck, but really, in the end, it all comes down to us. Most of us know this intellectually, but living it is a totally different ballgame."

A reminder on the importance of reflection and introspection, although if one already adheres to that personal philosophy - beyond the personal stories shared and their applicability, there is limited additional insight to be gained from this book.

[Sally McQuillen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be generous in hard-fought wisdom and inspiration. The author is real, vulnerable and striving .She is a Phoenix rising from the ashes authentically and courageously.

[Alexandra Cathrine · Rating 2 out of 5]

🤷‍♀️ Maybe I am not at this place in my journey of self-discovery, maybe I'm too young and inexperienced to get anything out of this book, but nothing resonated with me.
It wasn't laborious to get through, it didn't take me forever to finish, but also didn't pertain to me.

[Đào Nguyên · Rating 5 out of 5]

It change my habit a little

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find this book difficult to describe because I disagree with the book cover description. Purportedly, this is a book about how to change your life instead of waiting for your life to change. In reality, it largely focuses on the author’s own challenges throughout her life, from early drug addiction and bulimia to her recent loss of her house in a wildfire. She reframes many of these challenges as ways in which she was waiting for something. She also includes thought-provoking questions that challenge the reader to apply the lessons she’s learned to their own life.

When the author was describing her story, I loved her writing. Her word choices were intelligent, original, and emotive. I felt for her even though her life story was nothing like mine. Some of the challenges she struggled with, particularly within her relationship with her husband, felt universal enough that her advice could be helpful to anyone. Her questions for the reader were thought-provoking and could encourage people to think about their life in a new way. As a memoir, I think this book had great potential.

Unfortunately, when she started to give advice, her writing started to include more cliches. Her attempts to relate each challenge back to the idea of waiting for change felt a bit forced. Often, unless you’d been through her specific situation, I didn’t feel her advice would be helpful. She never gave scientific backing for her advice. It was all based on personal experience, which seems most useful to me if people want to feel less alone in a particular challenge. If your house had just burned down, reading about the ways she deals with it and the ways in which she still struggles with it could provide a much-needed companionship in a difficult time. If you’re looking for an interesting personal story or if, heaven forbid, your house just burnt down, this might be the book for you. If you’re someone who just wants a self-help book about how to better seize the day, I would seize a different book.

This review first published on Doing Dewey

[Ruth B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess most of us find ourselves asking when things will be perfect and when will we be truly happy. We continue waiting for a magical solution, expecting that somehow everything just fall into place and we can be free. Unfortunately, there is no secret formula and life is messy, sad and happy but above all life is our only chance to LIVE.

This book by the lovely Kristen Moeller show us that we are not alone in the endless waiting. Waiting is part of the human nature but we can learn to live without waisting time or expecting something that will never come.

I enjoyed the informal, personal, touching and inspirational writing style the author used in the book. The words flow naturally, the sentences are engaging and you believe every word she says because she is being honest.

Whether or not you enjoy self-help books, this one is something you shouldn't miss. Actually, I'm not a fan of this genre, I believe that each one will find their path somehow and there is not a formula to live a wonderful life. However, this book doesn't try to sell you the five steps to happiness. The author use her personal experiences and other people anecdotes to help us think over our choices and our lives.

I'm glad I read this book. I ended up feeling lighter and a bit more open to what life has to offer. I'm not saying that now I know how to stop waiting but at least I know I'm not the only one and that it's possible to move on and enjoy living.

Another great thing about this book were the quotes at the beginning of the chapters. I love inspirational quotes.

Overall, a great book. Enlightening, powerful and enjoyable.

*** I received a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange of an honest review. ***

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have certainly read my fair share of Personal Development/Self Help Books, but I realize a certain level of motivation from them.

Moeller mentions in her book the addiction to Self-Help, with the sense of never being good enough, but I have recovered from that, and now am more objective in my personal development reading.

A great deal of her book centers on her posttraumatic growth following the loss of her house in a forest fire. I don't have a way to relate to that level of loss. I did, however, like her "Gentle Knocks" throughout the book, as a way of self-awareness. [Note to her editor: the Gentle Knock on page 179 is duplicated on page 181.]

I appreciated Moeller's emphasis on knowing the difference between waiting with purpose and procrastinating. She illustrates that many of us are trying to reach an imaginary place where everything will be perfect, and such a place doesn't exist.

I ended up skipping most of her chapter on God because I don't share her beliefs. However, I think a lot of people would appreciate her "Waiting for God to Show Up," chapter.

[Cornelia Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. The format is very different than the typical self-help books I have read. There is a great deal of narrative about the author's life events and impetus for writing the book. So it does come from a place of authenticity - what the author recommends to readers is based on what has worked for her.

I did have some trouble with the narrative style in terms of gleaning what specific steps I could take if I felt stuck in my life. Moeller's story would be very helpful for anyone who has been faced with huge, unexpected events in their lives.

[Georgette Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

So glad I found this book! I enjoyed reading and highly recommend it. As a self-help reader, I especially liked and appreciated Kristen Moeller's thoughts and opinions on self-help books in general. There comes a time where one must stop reading about how to be better and start LIVING OUT YOUR LIFE AND BE BETTER AS YOU PRACTICE!